Trusting in the power of prayer, we renew our practice of praying to the Lord to deliver us His flock from calamities. With strong typhoons, destructive floods and high intensity earthquakes happening in many different parts of the world, we turn to the Lord who created everything to deliver us from these calamities.

Enclosed is the ORATIO IMPERATA Against Calamities in English, Tagalog, Pangasinan and Ilocano to be prayed BEFORE the Post Communion Prayer in ALL Masses in the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan from October 1 until 31 this year.

Homily delivered by Archbishop Socrates B Villegas at the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist Dagupan City on September 21, 2017 at 12noon

Today is the feast of Saint Matthew one of the writers of the Gospel. He found Jesus. He followed Jesus. He wrote about Jesus. He died like Jesus offering the Mass and stabbed to death from behind his back.

The color of Saint Matthew’s day is red. Red is for blood. Red is for faithfulness. Red is for courage.

Forty five years ago, the red of Saint Matthew’s day was replaced by black, the black of darkness, the black of uncertainty, the black of death, the black of warrantless arrests, the black of solitary confinement, the black of bleak future, the black of lost freedoms. Many died in the dark of midnight with no hope of seeing the dawn.

Araw ng Kahihiyan

When we were children forty five years ago, we were compelled to call this day Araw ngPasasalamat. The vision forty five years ago was a new society bagong lipunan where discipline was observed but opposition was silenced. The streets were clean but dead bodies were mixed with garbage in the dumping sites. There were admirable cultural buildings and long bridges across wide rivers but the wheels of justice had stopped turning and money was the right of a lucky few. Our elders spoke in whispers for fear someone was spying. We had elections but we knew the results even before the ballots were cast. Television and radio were censored and newspapers were controlled.

Martial law destroyed our national values and ruined our integrity. Martial law was sustained by a culture of lies. Martial law stayed afloat by murders in the dark of night and in the light of day.

Martial was murders and lies. Martial law was hidden wealth and fake medals. Martial law was the egoism and insanity of the dictator.

Araw ng Kadakilaan

But those years of murders and falsehood also brought about the best in so many. It made so many our elders martyrs for freedom and heroes of democracy. When darkness set in, many of our leaders chose to light a candle rather to curse the darkness. Our heroes and martyrs of martial law fought darkness with light and fought evil with the power of good.

They refused to bow down to the authoritarian rule and made the grounds where they stood holy by their courage and conviction. The martial law years made us see the weeds from the wheat, the opportunists from the real patriots, the true Filipinos from the fake ones.

For the martyrs and heroes of martial law, we offer our thanksgiving to the Lord.We are standing on their shoulders, they who died in the darkness without seeing the sunrise. Sa mga balimbing hanggang ngayon, walang kupas at walang kahihiyan, maawa kayo sa bayan!

Araw ng Pagbabantay

We have only martial law in Mindanao but the murders are all over more than 13,000 now since last year. Killing the poor and the poorest is the only solution they know to stop crime. Fake news abound and liars succeed to mislead and confuse. Decency has given way to cuss words. The respectful and the polite are ridiculed and the rude and ill-mannered are the new saints. Human rights and the indigenous peoples are worth one thousand pesos.

We must stand up for the real Filipino. Marangal tayo. Magalang tayo. Makabuhay tayo. Matapat tayo.Matapang tayo. We are losing our national soul to the Father of Lies and Prince of Darkness. They are killing the poor and poisoning our consciences. We must return to the Lord and regain our national soul.

We pray to stay free. We ring bells every night. We light candles. We help the orphans of the killings.But we must do more!

We have a right as people to demand change. We voted for change and we want to see it. Keep on demanding for it. Do not relent. Do not tolerate excuses and jokes. Demand for the change promised. Bayan gumising!

The change we need is for the better not the change from life to death. We need a change from darkness into light not the change of darkness into deeper darkness. Bayan gumising!

Wrong is wrong and right is right. When they confuse one for the other, stand up and correct the wrong with courage but with love. Stand up. To keep quiet in the face of evil is a sin. Bayan gumising!

Let the September 21 forty five years ago be the last Araw ng Kahihiyan. Never again!

Kian, Carl, Reynaldo…they were young boys, enjoying life, loving sons of parents who doted on them. Now an entire nation knows them by name because their lives have been snuffed out so cruelly, their dreams and aspirations forever consigned to the sad realm of “what could have been but never will be”.

They cannot be statistics, for to reduce them to numbers in an increasing tally is to heap yet more injustice than has already been visited on them. They are only three of so many, awfully many, who have paid the price of what is touted to be the country’s resolute drive against criminality!

We mourn. The nation must beat its breast in a collective admission of guilt for in our silence and in our inaction, in our diffidence and in our hesitation lie our complicity in their deaths!

We are appalled by the remorselessness by which even the young are executed. The relentless and bloody campaign against drugs that shows no sign of abating impels us your bishops to declare:

In the name of God, stop the killings! May the justice of God come upon those responsible for the killings!

For the good of the country, stop the killings! The toll of “murders under investigation” must stop now.

For the sake of the children and the poor, stop their systematic murders and spreading reign of terror! In memory of those killed, let us start the healing of our bleeding nation.

The healing must begin. Malasakit must be restored. Pakikiramay must be active. Pakikipag kapwa tao must be gained back. The rule of law must prevail.

Because we Christians are heralds of a Gospel of Life there is no way that one can be a faithful Christian, let alone a fervent Catholic, and yet stay safely quiet in the face of these shocking attacks against human life. The very Gospel that the Church was founded to teach is a Gospel of Life. The Church must either be at the forefront of the intense and fervent struggle against a culture of death or the Church betrays Christ.

Saint John Paul II taught years many years ago:

Brother kills brother. Like the first fratricide, every murder is a violation of the “spiritual” kinship uniting mankind in one great family, in which all share the same fundamental good: equal personal dignity.…

Cain’s killing of his brother at the very dawn of history is thus a sad witness of how evil spreads with amazing speed: man’s revolt against God in the earthly paradise is followed by the deadly combat of man against man. (EV,

When we label members of our society because of the offenses they commit – or that we impute rightly or wrongly against them – as “unsalvageable”, “irremediable”,“hopelessly perverse” or “irreparably damaged”, then it becomes all the easier for us to consent to their elimination if not to participate outright in their murder. We stand firmly against drugs and the death drugs have caused, but killing is not the solution of the problem.

The mercy of the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine in search of the lost sheep is the only reason why we are still here—awa ng Diyos. The “mandate” to kill the lost sheep is poison for humanity. The wounded need healing, not more blows, and the fallen need our hands to be able to rise again, not our feet to trample on them.

We your bishops call for pakikiramay, pakikipagkapwa-tao and malasakit in action; the action to which we bid you all is utterly Christian. It is the most powerful weapon in our arsenal – the action of prayer.

1. We invite you to offer prayers particularly for those killed in the government’s campaign against drugs, as well as for all victims of violence and the war in Marawi, in our country for a FORTY DAY period, starting SEPTEMBER 23 and ending on NOVEMBER 1. Please offer the rosary daily for the killed and receive Holy Communion as an offering for their souls. May the souls of the killed find rest. Prayer heals us. Prayer helps their souls.

2. Subject to the approval of the diocesan bishops, we appeal for the pealing of church bells at 8:00 pm during the same forty day period in remembrance of the souls of those killed. The ancient pious tradition of De Profundis is worth restoring. Let the bells call us to pray for the dead.

3. One beautiful Filipino custom observed in prayerful remembrance of the dead is the tirik ng kandila sa patay. So we urge our Filipino Catholics, during this same 40 day period, to light candles in front of their homes, in cemeteries, in public places, and particularly, at spots where the victims of the on-going violence have been felled and have lost their lives, while praying for them and for their families. Candle lighting can soothe grieving hearts.

4. Finally, we beg you to contribute to the support and the schooling of the orphaned children of the victims of these murders, or of their siblings, or the support and sustenance of their families. Almsgiving covers many sins.Almsgiving heals.

We intend to offend none but the evil in our midst. We are angry at none but the indifference amongst us. We fight the darkness not with spark of bullets but with the light of Christ. We beg for prayers and we ask for a change of heart in all of us.

Let us turn once more to God, for they who put their trust in bullets and weapons will be confounded. But upon the nation that turns to God and prays, God promises the healing of the land and the calming of the storms that rage in our hearts.

Let the healing begin.

For the Permanent Council of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Intramuros, Manila, September 12, 201

Post Synodal Message to the Faithful of the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan

We were called together by the Lord and now he sends us forth!

We your brothers and sisters, members of the Second Synod of Lingayen Dagupan, came together in the name of the Lord around our Archbishop Socrates from the many different parishes, schools and communities of our archdiocese to study together, to pray together and to discern together the will of the Lord for us His Church.

We came from many different backgrounds with varied ages, occupations and vocations and yet we celebrated that which made us one—the call to be saints together, that calling that you and all of us received from the Lord on the day we were baptized. There were more than one hundred seventy reasons to be different but we had only one reason to unite us—Jesus Christ. Indeed our Lord gathered together our differences and gave us the blessing of pananabangan. Communio God’s gift is also our mission.

The Shadows

We celebrated the synod under the grieving shadow of the more than 13,000 countrymen who have been killed in the anti-drug campaign. Although we live up north, we were not detached from the terror and destruction that the ongoing war in Marawi has wrought upon our brothers and sisters in southern Philippines.

We allowed the uncorrected and widespread corruption in public service to disturb us and to challenge us in our deliberations. We were aware of the deep divide between the faith that our lips profess and the immorality that our lives tolerate. We did not ignore the discrepancy between the memorized dogmas in our minds and the scandalous example of our lives as members of the Church and citizens of the country. We were aware of the many forms in which the truth is being attacked by trolls, by fake news and the continuing erosion of courtesy and civility in the way we use social media. We were cognizant of the deep longing of our youth and children for meaning, a search that is not always answered with satisfaction by us their parents and pastors.

Indeed there were many shadows that hovered over our heads as the synod opened but the shadow of God’s presence was even stronger, more palpable and ever present.

Communio is our Key

At the conclusion of our Synod on Communio, we offer communio as the answer to all the doubts and questions that we face right now as citizens and as Christian believers. We began by looking at communio primarily as a gift and mission but we now end the Synod appreciating communio as the light that can dispel all the shadows. Communio is our gift, our mission and yes….our key. Communio if truly lived has the incredible power to remove all the shadows of our lives and make this world a better and more beautiful place where God’s light always shines.

Communio and the Killings

If we only allow the message of love in communio that binds the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit to rule the way we live, how can the killings continue? Love does not kill. Love is life giving. Love nurtures. The drug user is a brother and a sister. His dignity comes not from his good behavior but from the breath of the Spirit that the drug user received when he was created. When love is forgotten, violence prospers. When God’s face in every person is ignored, death becomes the only way to end criminality. The blood of those killed in the anti-drug campaign is the howling symptom that the spirit of communio is lacking if not absent. The sense of bayanihan or communio must be killed first before the brother or sister is killed. If communio is alive, the sacredness of life will always be safeguarded. We are our brother’s keepers (Gen.4:9).

The terror in Marawi invites us to stay in communio beyond geography and distance. The death toll in Marawi, the martial law in Mindanao, the displaced evacuees in Iligan—they all challenge us to pray for peace, to work for peace, to give peace. The communio that the synod adopted as the main agenda is not just a communio in Pangasinan. It is a communio that even goes beyond the borders of the Philippines and our planet. The whole universe is my brother, the entire creation is my mother. We are all one Body. No man is an island. None of us lives for oneself (Rom 7:14).Communio and Corruption

We offer the spirit of communio as the healing balm to cure the rampant culture of corruption that we all complain about. Many of us feel helpless about graft. Many have grown cynical if not numb. Corruption indeed thrives in hiddenness. The corrupt gets bolder thinking that no one sees. Lady Justice is blind and it only becomes wrong if you are caught. Communio as a spirituality will jolt those tempted to steal secretly that nothing is secret because God knows. If communio is lived, it will become the conscience to stand in the way of stealing public funds. In communio nothing is hidden; stealing hurts right away and sin is punished always.

Communio and Technology

All human inventions most especially technology must be at the service of communio for humanity. Social media must be put at the service of communio so that it can do great things. It must connect not divide. It must build not destroy. It must help us do great things not diminish our human values. We have given computers the ability to think like humans but we humans have started to act like computers—without ethics, without courtesy, without truth, without mercy, without decency, without love. Trolls will remain trolls but why do we allow ourselves humans to become trolls? Indeed at the sunset of this earthly life, we will be judged not according to the “likes” we received on social media but on the imprints of love we have left on one another. Paraphrasing Mother Teresa of Calcutta, God calls us not be to successful and popular but to be faithful and loving. To live for love and service is the fruit of living in communio.

The Eucharist is Communio

The Eucharist as the source and summit of Christian life is the source and summit of communio. God comes to us and we go to Him. In the Eucharist, God and humanity become a communio. In this communio, our youth and children can find the meaning they seek. So much still needs to be done if we wish to discover the hidden treasures of the Mass. The Mass as communio is the life of the entire people of the Church. In the words of Pope Francis, the Eucharist is an action for the people and of the people.

We dream to be a Church of the poor. There is a lot that we must let go in order to become better teachers of the Gospel. Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses… It is therefore primarily by her conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelize the world. (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41).

Communio challenges us to go beyond doing good things for the poor into living poor and being poor with the poor. The communio we profess for the poor would be plain lip service unless we live with the poor, eat the food of the poor and sleep with the poor. We are all poor in many and varied ways.

Communio demands from us a deeper commitment to Gospel of simplicity. We are called to self-effacing humility in service. Communio demands conversion and witnessing. The Gospel according to the poor is like a mine of infinite treasures and only the pure of heart can find it. It is not the Gospel dressed in gold that will convince the world about Christ but the Gospel of humility and simplicity. It is not the Gospel that threatens but the Gospel that invites that will inspire.

Here before the feet of Our Lady of Manaoag, the lady whose loving call we have heard, the voice that invites us to live in communio, we renew our commitment to be a Church in pananabangan. We invite you our brothers and sisters in the faith to embrace what we have seen, to follow what we have heard and to live what we here celebrate.

Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag, take us into your heart where your Son always lives. With you, we want to live always in communio with Jesus.

We were called together by the Lord and now he sends us forth!

From the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag, September 9, 2017 at the conclusion of the Second Synod of Lingayen Dagupan, we the one hundred seventy members together with our Archbishop Socrates greet you in the communio of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Homily at the Opening Mass for the Second Synod of Lingayen Dagupan held at the Saint John the Evangelist Cathedral, Dagupan City last September 2, 2017

You are taking part in history today. Generations of Catholics in Pangasinan in the decades ahead will look back at what is unfolding today and hopefully give thanks for this Synod. May future generations of Catholics remember what we are doing right now with gratitude and be able to say with pride “We are Catholics from Pangasinan and we are proud of our forefathers. In their time, they gave their best to keep Pangasinan semper fidelis.” Pangasinan always faithful! Pangasinan tapat hanggang wakas.

We remember with pride Bishop Miguel Garcia, Bishop of Segovia, who convoked the Synod of Calasiao in 1773. We are standing on the shoulders of Archbishop Federico Limon, SVD who celebrated the first synod of Lingayen Dagupan in 1985. To them, we are grateful. For them we praise the Lord!

A synod is not a meeting. A synod is a journeying together. It is walking together on pilgrimage, together like the Israelites to the Land of Promise, marching together like saints to heaven. We take the same path together with a shared rhythm and a common heartbeat walang iwanan not our heartbeat but the heartbeat of the Lord.

Where do we start? Our starting point is not a place. Our starting point is a person. Our starting point is Christ, Christ who says to each one here “Come follow me”. Gala, tumbok mo ak.

Our first duty, our only duty is to follow the Lord. We did not choose this synod. God chose us for this synod. It is not our wish. It is God’s will that we follow. We have heard the voice of the Virgin who calls in Manaoag “Come to me and let’s go to my Son”. The Virgin who calls is the Virgin who follows and with her we walk the path that Jesus walked on.

When I signed and sent the summons to the members of the Synod, I signed those documents by the feet of the crucified Lord. I have heard the same call Gala tumbok mo ak. With you I am only a fellow disciple struggling to answer that call. We are called together to be Jesus for the world.

When we conducted the tedious surveys and dug deeply into the treasures of Church teachings, we were doing it because of the Lord. The Lord speaks to us through our Mother Church indeed, but he also speaks to us through the signs of the times. In the lights and shadows of life, in the stormy and sunny days, in the persecutions we endure and the triumphs we bask in—the Lord speaks. We must listen to Lord and to the world so that the Gospel can penetrate more hearts, touch more lives and build the Kingdom of God. Our mission is not to fill up our chapels and churches with active parishioners; our mission is to fill the dark world with the light of Christ. The challenge is not inside the Cathedral but in the streets and sidewalks, in our seas and rivers, in our factories and markets, in our stores and municipios.

Our journey of discipleship leads us always to the Upper Room where he continues to wash our feet and admonishes us “Gawa yo ya pakanudnotan ed siak”.

The synod is a journey of doing what Jesus has done. It is a call to serve. The members of the synod gather together not in power and pageantry but in humility and service. The work of the synod is a mission of washing one another’s feet, it is a mission of generous and courageous dying that the dead in the spirit may come alive again, that hearts that have become cold may be lit up again. Our standard is Christ. Our criterion is Christ. Our vision is Christ. Our task is Christ. Gawa yo ya pakanudnotan ed siak. We are at the service of one another.

If the synod is to be life giving for the Church and for society, we are called to be ready to die during the synod; to die to old beliefs, to kill the ghosts of our prejudices, to shut down our dusty mindsets. We are called to let go of customs and practices that have become security blankets rather stimuli for the Gospel. We dream not of status quo Church but an ever vibrant Church that is excited not afraid to plunge into the deep.

In dying with the Lord, we rise with the Lord and from the risen Lord, we hear the important call of the synod Laka yo, mambangat kayo!

After dying, we rise. After rising, we are sent. Go and teach!

The most important task of the synod is not to make laws but to teach. Our task is to make Gospel that has gathered dust with old memorized formulas become fresh and new again. At the end of the synod, the synodal proceedings will be turned over to me for my prayer and study. I will receive the synod documents not as a legislator but as a teacher ready to be taught by my flock. I am your teacher; I must listen to your teachings. Indeed, the first duty of the teacher is to be a pupil.

We must teach even if the government is hostile. We must teach even if the children are noisy. We must teach even if the trolls are unrelenting. We must teach even if our voices get hoarse. We must teach even if they threaten us. We must teach even if they kill us and if they kill us, our message will echo even more because the best way to teach is through martyrdom!

These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Lakayo mambangat kayo!

Church in Lingayen Dagupan, I bid you “Come let us follow the Lord”.

Brothers and sisters in Lingayen Dagupan, I challenge you: Do not get tired of doing this in His memory!